Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a very old art based upon the invisible energy pathways. Skin is an external organ and the concept is that each organ system has an energy path on the skins surface. So all of the internal volume is represented by some area of the skin. The combined spots form a line or pathway and are called meridians. It is thought an invisible life force or energy flows along this pathway and that the pathways follow the blood. I think the vortex nature of the spots and the similarity to the chakras indicates they are related systems one feeding the other. The skin is thought to be an insulator and the needle by penetrating the insulator has a strong effect on the point, as well as, the energy flow in that area and at the corresponding organ. So a sensitive spot would indicate a distressed organ. Needling the point would increase the blood and energy flow restoring the organ to normal capacity thus preventing illness or failure in that organ. Most infections are preceded by a weakness of the liver or spleen. If detected early the illness can be prevented or reduced. The needle themselves are a fraction the diameter of normal needles so in most cases you only feel those that are in a hot spot, so to speak. Also, you only feel the insertion once the needle is in place you no longer feel it. Pressure, magnets and, in some cases, a low voltage can also be applied to these points to effect change. There is also a technique that uses burning herbs but I have never had that experience. Many practitioners also dispense herbs to extend the treatment into the daily activity. However, you can best understand acupuncture if you think of painting. If you were to take a pint of paint the opposite color of say a wall and paint until you had applied the paint you might observe two aspects of your work. Where you applied too much it would ripple. Conversely, where you spread it too thin the original color would bleed through. In acupuncture where there is too much energy you have pain and where there is too little energy you have numbness, infections and tumors. Now this is clearly a simplification of the art. A good practitioner identifies the weak area, as well as, the strong area then through needles, herbs or lifestyle changes works the energy to where it is evenly distributed. In theory, when the energy is correctly distributed there is no illness and no pain. In many cases even behavioral problems can be corrected such as the craving for alcohol and drugs. However, it is not a guaranteed cure. There are some people who can achieve balance in their energy and still have the addictive behavior.

Some acupuncturists read pulses found at the wrist on the inside of both arms. The condition of the internal organs can be read by a pulse reader. Three finger wide areas two layers deep. A top pulse and a lower deeper pulse. These pulses exhibit a beat with different qualities (strong, weak, soft, smooth etc.) and combined they form a rhythm Good pulse readers can detect organ weakness months and even years before the onset of symptoms. My associate and teacher, Dr. Lee, explained that anyone can learn to read these rhythms. He said it was like watching men march. If one man comes out of step it is easy to see. He believed the blood picks up a rhythm and a quality that can be felt. He said eat chicken then feel the pulses how has it changed from when you were relaxed. Hold your breath and pay attention to what points now become stronger and so on. After a while you can predict what will happen and if you felt weakened you would know what to do to balance that pulse to restore strength. A good pulse reader can by checking the pulses know if the herbs and treatment plan are correcting the condition before it becomes apparent to you.

There is a theory in this art that if you have a severe illness or trauma and you do not heal it totally then it returns at a future time often in a slightly different form. The cause is, however, rooted in your past. The man who explained this art to me believed strokes would reoccur every 3 years or every 7 years depending upon the side affected. A good practitioner will identify such a cause and deal with it, as well as, your symptoms.

My knowledge of these things started the night I met the man who would share with my his ideas about acupuncture. I had been told by friends he was an exceptional healer who had recently come here from Korea. It seems he had made unkind statements about the President and the President responded by giving him 24 hours to leave the country. It was all done through veiled statements and correspondence but they all knew what was happening. He was the son of an acupuncturist who also was the son of an acupuncturist. However, his story was even more unique. He had been sickly as a child with maladies his father could not correct. His father acting out of concern took him to the temple to learn the philosophy behind the healing. Three years later he emerged a healthy young man armed with deep understanding and considerable skill in meditating. Even though he was the son of a doctor he learned a great deal from a man who had lived many years in a wild forest. He had been living alone studying philosophy and when he emerged he had an exceptional ability to read pulses which he taught to my teacher. I had asked him to come to my skilled facility on a week day evening. Unknown to him I had asked everyone I knew who had an incurable condition
to meet us there. He was aware I would want to know more about his skills but he did not know what was planned only I knew who was coming. We met in my activity room because it was in a quiet area of my facility and I knew we would not be disturbed or disturb anyone else. .I met him and explained what I had in mind and he immediately agreed to see anyone there. He made it clear he not needle anyone but he would tell them what he finds and what they
could do to help themselves. The evening was amazing. He stated he had no unusual gifts but he proceeded to tell each and everyone their symptoms without them saying a word. He knew from looking at their face and holding their pulses exactly what their symptoms were what time they occurred and even how many years prior they had started. In the case of a relative of mine he told her she had shooting pain down her leg late at night. I was not aware of it but he was right. In another case he read a woman's pulses and as he was holding her wrist she said I have Parkinson's. He replied "no you do not this started from an old injury to your lower back about 9 or 10 years ago". She looked at him and said no I have not. He went on to say you compressed it as in a fall. Her face turned white as she related the story of how she fell out of the car on her tail bone while it was rolling down the driveway. He then proceeded to tell her how to clear the damage done from the accident. A young man I did not know who came with one of the other people came into the doorway and from 20 feet with out a word spoken he looked at him and said you have extreme headaches. The young man walked closer and proceeded to tell him he had been to the emergency room several times and had been told there was nothing they could do for his headaches. I watched as he pushed hard on the cranial plates as though they were somehow out of place and this corrected the condition although he advised him to reduce his beer intake. This went on for several hours. It would be about a year later that I would have two person experiences with my teacher. First, I had all my life been treated for swimmers ear infections but I did not need to get near water to experience them. The pain was horrible and the treatment was always the same an antibiotic and something for the pain. One day I could feel the symptoms returning so I went to my friend and ask him for his advice. He read my pulses then turned away saying there was nothing he for him to do. I pressed him and asked him if he had any suggestions. He looked at me and said he could fix it but that I was creating it. That took me back but he went on to say as you get stressed you weaken your kidneys because it causes fear in you. As the kidneys weaken the ear on the opposite side of your body shows or expresses the harm with pain. He said I needed to learn to relax. I needed to fix myself. As it turns out I was headed to Naples Florida to make a presentation to a bank. I was looking for a loan to develop an apartment complex for active people with walking trails, small recreation areas and so on. Thirty years ago it was a new idea. So I followed his advice and went South but spent extra time on the beach thinking only relaxing thoughts. He was right and I had enough knowledge to never have it again. I had a few minor bouts but I knew exactly what to do and it worked. This had a major impact on my lower back but since I had dealt with this level of the problem I could heal my back as described on another page. If I had continued on damaging or weakening my kidneys I could not have healed my lower back. My other experience was with my step mother. She had a disease that caused her ribs to dissolve and she was running out of ribs so I asked her to come with me to be
checked. She had no faith in any alternative anything. She was a good a patient to her medical doctor and considered everything else quackery. He checked her then told her the cause of her problem was the hormone replacement she was taking. He explained it was placing an extreme load on her liver and would in time make her health much worse. He advised her to find a better treatment. She did nothing and continued with her treatment. Several years later she
died from liver cancer. Once I dropped in on him unexpected and I noticed he had an eye infection he told me to give it no thought that he would meditate later and it would be gone by tomorrow. I did not see him the next day but he came by my facility the following day and true to his word his eye was fine.

I have seen acupuncture work, work very well and not work many times. It is hard to predict when it will work but if I had a problem that did not respond to conventional therapy I certainly would investigate this art. I used it on my shoulder, lower back and with a severe reaction to a plant. In each case the treatment varied but I experienced a degree of relief with each visit. However, I have known friends who received one time treatment cures while others received
only minimal results not worth pursuing. If you are prone to a chronic pain or repeated infections in a specific organ I would give it a try. I usually went a few times and researched any herbs they suggested for my condition. As I progressed I went to buying my own herbs and continued the path to health under my own supervision. You can find my latest experience with acupuncture on the shingles page.

For more acupuncture theory please visit my page entitled Five Elements or the 24 Hour Acupuncture Clock page.

acupuncture